If you've visited the University of Maryland's Adele H. Stamp Student Union since 2003, you'll have spotted the statue of Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog on a bench to the left of the Campus Drive entrance. The spot is a popular photo opportunity for students and visitors, where you can sit beside Henson and Kermit as they chat in the small memorial garden. Although Henson is perhaps not as internationally famous as his creations, the Muppets, he is one of the University of Maryland's (UMD) most recognizable alumni. Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA) in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library (MSPAL) is already the home of the Jim Henson video collection, which gathers nearly seventy videos highlighting Henson's career. Now, SCPA and MSPAL are proud to announce that another collection focused on Henson is available to students and researchers: the SCPA collection on Jim Henson.
Henson, born in 1936 in Greenville, Mississippi, was an artist, puppeteer, and filmmaker with an avid interest in television starting from a young age. He was already designing, writing, and performing for local television by the time he graduated from high school and came to UMD. While he originally enrolled as a fine arts major, Henson was more interested in commercial art and set design. He switched to Home Economics (later to be renamed Practical Arts) and took a class on puppetry, where, by many accounts, he was more of a teacher than a student due to his years performing in commercials and on the local short-form show, Sam and Friends. He also worked as the publicity director for the UMD drama department, designing and printing posters for the department and other UMD events and organizations such as the University of Maryland Symphonic Band. He even ran a silkscreen printing business out of what is now Stamp Student Union—examples of his work can be found in SCPA's Edward L. Longley papers, as well as the new SCPA collection on Jim Henson.
LP cover by Jim Henson, 1958.
In addition to commercial Muppets publications such as records and films, and the original artwork by Jim Henson, the new collection includes photographs, recordings, a set of trading cards for the 1982 film The Dark Crystal, and nearly one hundred and fifty newspaper clippings dating back to 1957. They include articles from publications such as the New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times, all focusing on the Henson Company and the development and publicity of Sesame Street and the Muppets. They contain interviews with performers, designers, and characters and discussions and criticism of the Henson Company's shows and movies, as well as pieces about international spinoffs and the company's business decisions. The title of the oldest article in the collection, "Sam's Best Friend," is emblematic of his place in television overall; far more people know Bert and Ernie or Kermit the Frog than would recognize Jim Henson or Frank Oz.
This collection is a look behind a curtain—or beyond the stage—at the development and workings of the Muppets and Henson's career. It holds particular research potential for experimental puppetry; the trajectory of children's educational programming; and Henson's life and career. The collection has been fully processed and the finding aid is available on SCPA's website. Since this is an artificial collection curated by SCPA's staff, rather than donated by a single entity, ongoing accruals to the collection are expected.
Molly Wulff is a field student at Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA) in spring 2024
Jim and Jane Henson with characters from Sam and Friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment